Ellen Dunham-Jones: Retrofitting suburbia - Ellen Dunham-Jones (2010)

Ellen Dunham-Jones fires the starting shot for the next 50 years’ big sustainable design project: retrofitting suburbia. To come: Dying malls rehabilitated, dead “big box” stores re-inhabited, parking lots transformed into thriving wetlands.

Filed under: TED, sci & tech

Stephen Palumbi: Following the mercury trail - Stephen Palumbi (2010)

There’s a tight and surprising link between the ocean’s health and ours, says marine biologist Stephen Palumbi. He shows how toxins at the bottom of the ocean food chain find their way into our bodies, with a shocking story of toxic contamination from a Japanese fish market. His work points a way forward for saving [...]

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Carter Emmart demos a 3D atlas of the universe - Carter Emmart (2010)

For the last 12 years, Carter Emmart has been coordinating the efforts of scientists, artists and programmers to build a complete 3D visualization of our known universe. He demos this stunning tour and explains how it’s being shared with facilities around the world.

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Mitchell Joachim: Don’t build your home, grow it! - Mitchell Joachim (2010)

TED Fellow and urban designer Mitchell Joachim presents his vision for sustainable, organic architecture: eco-friendly abodes grown from plants and — wait for it — meat.

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Benoit Mandelbrot: Fractals and the art of roughness - Benoit Mandelbrot (2010)

At TED2010, mathematics legend Benoit Mandelbrot develops a theme he first discussed at TED in 1984 — the extreme complexity of roughness, and the way that fractal math can find order within patterns that seem unknowably complicated.

Filed under: TED, sci & tech